Papa, c’est quoi un homme haut sèkçuel?

(Daddy, what is a home oh sekshual?)Book not yet available in English

Summary:

Tinig is a boy who takes the words used to describe his dad literally when he doesn’t understand them. The expressions make him picture his father as a marvellous, extraordinary figure – a “pansy” growing in a garden, a “bender” who does yoga, a “gay” who is always cheerful, or a “queen” who rules over a country. When Tinig eventually asks, his dad takes the question in good part and cheerfully explains that he is homosexual, which means he is attracted to men. [Source: publisher]

Comment:

The hero of this picture book is a boy whose father is homosexual, as the adult reader immediately grasps from the deliberately misspelt title. The text and pictures are never on the same pages. The picture that comes after the text shows the boy taking the words and expressions he hears at face value, while the flyleaves provide dictionary definitions for each term. The two levels of reading shed light on what Tinig does not understand: the words are hurtful for his father, but the boy turns them into a fantasy portrait. For Tinig, it just means his dad is attracted to men, quite simply.

Edited by:
University Library "Livres au Trésor" and the Research Centre "Pléiade" of the University of Paris 13 (France)